Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. touted the security improvements made at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic following a tour of the Oakland facility on Friday morning.

“It’s outstanding,” Zappala said while standing outside the new main entrance on De Soto Street. “It’s really state of the art.” The redesigned lobby will open next week, UPMC spokeswoman Gloria Kreps said. Many of the upgrades are ones Zappala sought in the aftermath of a fatal shooting in the clinic on March 8, 2012.

Former graduate student John Shick, 30, opened fire in the building, killing a worker and wounding five others before University of Pittsburgh police fatally shot him. Zappala’s office hired consulting firms J.P. Hudson & Associates and Condortech Services to review safety procedures in response to the incident.

A Condortech report released in November 2012 recommended UPMC spend $2.1 million on security upgrades at Western Psych. Some of the improvements include: relocating and upgrading the main security command and operations center, installing all-in-one security card and fingerprint readers for staff and installing a new video surveillance system, among others.

“The doors on the first floor lock down, so your movement is restricted,” Zappala said. “Shick could move through the entire first floor. They’ve stopped that.”

Kreps said the security enhancements include: an armed officer always on duty, a walk-through magnetometer in the lobby all visitors must pass through upon entering the building, X-ray screening of backpacks, purses, briefcases and packaging, bulletproof vests for security guards, additional security cameras and bullet-resistant material in the lobby. She would not say how much the improvements cost. […]